Machine for making wire rope or the like



April 23, 1935. J. P. BARCLAY MACHINE FOR MAKING WIRE ROPE OR THE LIKEFiled April 22, 1933 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 J. P. BARCLAY MACHINE FOR MAKINGWIRE ROPE OR THE LIKE April 23, 1935.

Filed April 22, 1933 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 'A ril 23, 1935. J; P. BARCLAYFiled April 22, 1933 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 Patented Apr. 23, 1935 1,998,430

MACHINE FOR MAKING WIRE ROPE OR THE LIKE John P. Barclay, East Haven,Conn.

Application April 22, 1933, Serial No. 667,378 17 Claims. (01.117-20)This invention relates to machines for making ing nead, the view beingtaken at the right-hand wire strands, ropes, or cables, and moreparticuend of the device, as shown in Fig. 1; larly to the type ofmachine for laying strands Fig. 5 is a sectional View On line of in arope, and is designed to provide improved Fig. 6 is a sect ona V ew Online 5 means for delivering the strands to the closing Fig. 7is an en ad fra ta y nal vi w 5 die so that the strands will be in the proper po-On in of sition and condition to serve as components of I Fig. 8 is asectional view on line 8- -8 of Figthe finished rope.' Fig. 9 is adetailed view of the supporting means It has been common in machines ofthis charfor e O t e pu eys s w in e .0 acter to pass the strands over aseries of pulleys Fig. 10 is a partial sectional view on line I 0-4 0 10or sheaves, usually three, the strand passing over of the two outsidepulleys and below the intermedi- In d r t i lustrat a preferred b dim ntate pulley. Each of the three pulleys is one of a O y invention I avshOWn a standard set of pulleys, the number in the set being equalwithin which is mounted a head or drum H, the 5 to the number of strandsbeing operated upon. ead b g secu d to d rotated by sheft l2 Forinstance, if the rope consists of seven strands, and being supported onrollers It W he one strand will usually act as the core, thereunderstood that the shaft y be rotated from maining six being woundhelically about the core ny suitable source 1 P W and is Preferablystrand. In laying the strands of su h a rope hollow so that it may carrythe center or core there will be six pulleys in each of the three sets;strand of the p being formedor eighteen in all, each of the strandspassing in At t e front ace of the drum II is secured a contact withthree of the pulleys or with one in supp rtin m m r I Th s member ay beeach of the sets. provided with a series of arms I5, secured to the Oneobject of the invention is to provide an drum y the bolts As shOWn in te 5 improved forming head for use in connection supporting member rvesto pp the 1101- with wire-making machines. low shaft l1 upon which, inturn, is-mounted my Another object of the invention is to provide mpIOrIniIIE eade rear e d o the a forming head with pulleys arranged insets, shaft is disposed Within e bore the 1101- the pulleys of each setbeing arranged opposite low shaft l2 and the shaft I1 is also hollow so0 the same point on the axis of the head and to t at t core w r st and 8may pass thereprovide means for adjusting each set of pulleysthroughsimultaneously. The forming head comprises a number of sets Afurther object of the invention is to provide 0f bending 0r crimpingrollers which a to form a forming head with inner and outer sets ofpulrimps n t w s or st a d passin ther v r 5 leys over which thestranded wire is passed, and P to their Passage to e C s d this die anintermediate set of pulleys, the pulleys of the in shown at N in 1mounted inv the intermediate set being adjustable radially with standard20. respect to the axis of the head and also being As s three Sets OfSuch rollers are simultaneously adjustable in a radial direction. pl y hset mp in a numb r f rollers 0 Another object of the invention is toprovide equa to the nu e o wires or strands to be a forming head havinga set of radially adjustwound about the core wire I 8. In the embodiablepulleys thereon, and means to provide for me o y d v shown in thedrawings. t e e adjustment of such pulleys equally and simultaare six ofsuch rollers in each set, one for each neously so as to insure preciselythe same adjustof the wires or strands 2 I, which as will be clear- 5ment of each one of the pulleys. ly understood by those skilled in theart, are

To these and other ends, the invention consists drawn from spools orreels carried by the usual in the novel features and combinations ofparts fly or cage, (not shown). to be hereinafter described and claimed.The rollers 22 of the first set are mounted upon 3 In the accompanyingdrawings: arms 23 provided upon a carrier 24, this carrier Fig. l is aside elevational-view of a forming being slidably keyed, as shown at 25,to a hub head, embodying my invention; member 26, which is in turn keyedat 21 to the Fig. 2 is a sectional view on line 2-2 of Fig. 1; hollowshaft II. An adjusting nut 28 is threaded Fig. 3 is a sectional view online 3-3 of Fig. 2; upon the hub 26 and is rotatably connected to 5 Fig.4 is an end elevational view of the formthe carrier 24 by means of asplitting 29, se-

cured to the carrier and located within a groove 30, in the adjustingnut 28.

It will be understood that the ring 29 is made in halves so it may beinserted into the groove 30, after the adjusting nut has been placedupon the hub 26 against the carrier 24. The two halves of this ring arethen secured in place by being bolted to the carrier 24 by means of thebolts 3|, which may be inserted through openings 32 in the rear face ofthe adjusting nut. It will be apparent, therefore, that when theadjusting nut 28 is rotated upon the hub 26, it will, due to itsthreaded connection with the hub be caused to travel therealong and willmove the carrier 24 and associated rollers 22 longitudinally of the hubmember and of the shaft H. The carrier will be prevented from rotatingupon the hub 26 because of its keyed connection therewith, and theadjusting nut 28 will rotate with relation to the carrier in itsmovement longitudinally of the hub. 'Ihs will tend to move the rollers22 longitudinally of the shaft l'l relatively to the other sets ofrollers presently to be described.

The set of rollers 22 which has just been described, is located nearestto the drum H, and another set of rollers 35 is mounted on the shaft I!in a manner similar to the rollers 22, the rollers 35 being the farthestfrom the drum These rollers, as shown in Fig. 4, are mounted upon arms36 supported by a carrier 31 which is keyed, as shown at 36, to theshaft H. An adjusting nut 39 is threadedly mounted on this shaft and isrotatably secured to the carrier 31 by means of the split ring 40,secured to the carrier by the bolts 4| and located within a groove 42 ofthe adjusting nut, this construction being substantially the same asthat described in connection with the carrier 24 and associated parts.

It will be apparent that rotation of the adjusting nut 39 will cause therollers 22 to be moved longitudinally of the shaft so that the desiredcrimping effect may be obtained. It will also be understood that therollers 35 will be equal in number to the rollers 22 and in general willbe the same as the number of wires or strands to be wound about thecenter core to form the completed strand, rope or cable, depending uponthe use to which the machine is put.

Between the two sets of rollers just described, is a third set 45, therebeing a roller 45 between each of the rollers 22 and 35. It is desirablethat these rollers be adjusted radially of the shaft l1, and it ismoreover desirable that this adjustment of all of the rollers be madeequally and simultaneously. It is particularly desirable that theadjustment of one roller be the same as that of another so that theeffect upon each and all of the strands passings through the rollerswill be the same.

To effect this result, the rollers 45 are rotatably mounted upon slidingsupports 46, these supports having dovetailed portions 41 mounted incorrespondingly shaped slideways 48 in arms 49 secured to a carrier 50,which is keyed upon the shaft H, as shown at 5|. The carrier 50 issecured to the hub 26 by means of bolts 52 passing through arms 53,secured to the hub and entering the arms 48 secured upon the carrier.These parts are held imposition upon the shafts I! by means of the nut54 threaded upon the shaft, and holding the portion of the hub member 26against the fron face of the support 14.

Within a recess in the front end of the hub 26 is rotatably mounted ascroll member 55, this scroll member having teeth 56 upon the front facethereof. Upon the rear face of the member are gear teeth 51, adapted tobe engaged by a pinion 58, formed integrally with a short shaft 59,mounted in the hub member 26 and in a collar 60 threaded into an openingin the hub member. The shaft 59 is provided with'wrench faces 6|adjacent its end so that the shaft may be rotated, this serving torotate the pinion 58 and the scroll member 55 by reason of theengagement of the teeth of the pinion with the gear teeth 51 on the rearface of the scroll member.

As shown more especially in Fig. 10, the slidably mounted members 46,which serve to support the rollers 45, are provided upon their rearfaces with teeth 63, engaged with the teeth 56 of the scroll member 55.It will be apparent that with this construction when the scroll memberis rotated the supporting members 46 will, due to the engagement of theteeth 63 thereof with the scroll teeth of the member 55, be movedradially within the dovetailed slot 48, of the arms 49, and serve tomove the rollers outwardly or inwardly in a radial direction relativelyto the hollow shaft l1. ,Moreover, it will be clear that the movement ofall of the rollers 45 is effected simultaneously and that this movementor adjustment will be equal for all of these rollers and in the samedirection. If, therefore, the rollers are originally set at the samedistance from the axis of the shaft they will always be maintainedequidistant from this shaft regardless of the actual distance from theshaft to which they may be adjusted.

It will also be understood that as the set of rollers 35 are mounted ona single carrier, and likewise, as the set of rollers 22 are mounted ona single carrier, the adjustment of each of these sets of rollers willtake place simultaneously and equally longitudinally of the shaft I1. Itwill, therefore, be seen that as each of the strands 2| passes over aroller 22, under a roller 45, and over a roller 35, the forming orcrimping effect of these rollers on one strand will be the same as anyother series of rollers on another strand, due to the fact that theadjustment of all the rollers must be made equally.

It will be understood that in the operation of the machine, the corewire or strand I8 is led through the shaft I2 and shaft I! to theclosing die I9, and that each of the strands 2| is led from the usualfly (not shown) located at the left of the machine, as shown in Fig. 1,through openings in the drum over a roller 22, under a roller 45, over aroller 35 and thence to the closing die l9 to be wound helically aroundthe core Wire or strand 3. During the operation of the machine, theshaft l2 and therefore the shaft I1, is rotated from any suitable sourceof power which effects rotation of the forming head, including the setsof rollers over which the strands pass. This rotation is provided at theproper speed to lay the strands 2| helically about the core I8, and theseries of rollers are properly adjusted to give the strands the desiredcrimping effect.

While I have shown and described a preferred embodiment of my invention,it will be understood that it is not tobe limited to the details shownbut is capable of modification and variation within the spirit of theinvention and the scope of the appended claims.

What I claim is:

1; A machine for making wire strands or ropes comprising a rotatablemember, carriers on said member, each carrier having a set ofstrandengaging members thereon, the members on one of said carriersbeing adjustable radially of said rotatable member, and means foreffecting simultaneous adjustment of said adjustable members.

2. A machine for making wire strands or ropes comprising a rotatablemember, carriers on said member, each carrier having a set ofstrand-engaging members thereon, the members on one of said carriersbeing adjustable radially of said rotatable member, and means forinsuring equal adjustment of said adjustable members.

3. A machine for making wire strands or ropes comprising a rotatablemember, carriers on said member, each carrier having a set ofstrandengaging members thereon, the members on one of said carriersbeing adjustable radially of said rotatable member, and an adjustingdevice engaged with all of said adjustable members to efiectsimultaneous adjustment thereof.

4. A machine for making wire strands and ropes comprising a rotatablemember, carriers on said member, a series of strand-engaging rollersmounted on one of said carriers and adjustable thereon radially of saidmember, an adjusting member mounted rotatably with respect to saidcarrier, and means for effecting simultaneous adjustment of said rollerswhen said rotatable member is actuated.

5. In a machine for making wire strands or ropes, a rotatable member, acarrier on said member, supports on said carrier mounted to slideradially thereof, rollers on said supports, an adjusting deviceoperatively connected with all of said supports and arranged whenactuated to move said supports radially to adjust the rollers.

6. A machine for making wire strands or ropes comprising a rotatablemember, a plurality of carriers thereon spaced axially of said member, aplurality of rollers on each of said carriers, certain of said carriersbeing adjustable axially of said rotatable member to vary the distancetherebetween, the rollers on another of said carriers being mounted foradjustment radially of the rotatable member, and said rollers beingarranged in sets comprising one roller on each of the carriers, and saidrollers having their axes extending tangentially of said rotatablemember.

7. A machine for making wire strands or ropes comprising a rotatablemember, a plurality of carriers thereon spaced axially of said member, aplurality of rollers on each of said carriers, certain of said carriersbeing adjustable axially of said rotatable member to vary the distancetherebetween, the rollers on one of said carriers being mounted foradjustment radially of the rotatable member, said rollers being arrangedin sets comprising one roller on each of the carriers and said rollersbeing arranged in planes extending radially of said rotatable member,and means on said one carrier for adjusting all of the rollers thereonsimultaneously and equally.

8. In a machine for making wire strands or ropes, a rotatable member, acarrier mounted on said member, supporting members slidably mounted onsaid carrier, rollers carried by said supporting members, saidsupporting members being provided with teeth, and a scroll memberrotatably mounted adjacent said carrier and having teeth adapted toengage the teeth of said supports to adjust the latter radially of thecarrier.

9. In a machine for making wire strands or ropes, a rotatable member, acarrier mounted on said member, supporting members slidably mounted onsaid. carrier, rollers carried by said supporting members, saidsupporting members being provided with teeth, and a scroll memberrotatably mounted adjacent said carrier and having teeth adapted toengage the teeth of said supports to adjust the latter radially of thecarrier, said scroll teeth being engaged with the teeth of all of saidsupports to effect simultaneous adjustment thereof.

10. In a machine for making wire strands or ropes, a rotatable member, acarrier on said member having arms projecting radially thereof, supportsslidably mounted on said arms and having strand-engaging devices mountedthereon, said devices being mounted on axes transverse to said supports,and means engaged with all of said supports and adapted when moved toeffect simultaneous adjustment thereof radially of said rotatablemember.

11. In a machine for making wire strands or ropes, a rotatable member, apair of spaced carriers mounted for longitudinal adjustment on saidmember, a third carrier arranged intermediate said spaced carriers, eachof said carriers having a set of rollers thereon, the rollers of saidfirst-named carriers being adjustable as a set with the carrierlongitudinally of the rotatable member, the rollers of said last-namedcarrier being adjustable as a set radially of the rotatable member, andmeans on said carrier to effect said radial adjustment.

12. In a machine for making wire ropes or strands, a rotatable member, ahub keyed to said member, carrier slidably mounted on said hub andhaving a set of rollers mounted thereon, means for adjustably securingsaid carrier to the hub, a second carrier mounted adjacent the face ofthe hub, a set of rollers supported by said carrier for adjustmentradially of said rotatable member, and means carried by said hubadjacent said second carrier to efiect simultaneous and predeterminedrelative adjustment of said rollers.

13. In a machine for making wire ropes or strands, a rotatable member, ahub keyed to said member, a carrier slidably mounted on said hub andhaving a set of rollers mounted thereon, means for adjustably securingsaid carrier to the hub, a second carrier mountedadjacent the face ofthe hub, a set of rollers supported by said carrier for adjustmentradially of said rotatable member, means carried by said hub adjacentsaid second carrier to effect simultaneous and predetermined relativeadjustment of said rollers, a third carrier mounted upon said rotatablemember and having a set of rollers thereon, and means for adjusting saidthird carrier longitudinally of said rotatable member.

l4.-In a machine for making wire rope or strands, a rotatable member, ahub secured to said member, a carrier mounted on said hub for movementlongitudinally of the axis thereof, said carrier having a set of rollersmounted thereon, means for adjustably securing said carrier to the hub,a second carrier mounted adjacent the face of the hub and having a setof rollers supported thereon for adjustment radially of said rotatablemember; and means carried by said hub adjacent said second carrier toefiect simultaneous and predetermined relative adjustment of saidrollers.

15. A machine for making wire strands or ropes comprising a rotatablemember, a pair of carriers supported by said member in spaced relation,each of said carriers being adjustable longitudinally of said member, aplurality of strand-engaging rollers on each of said carriers, a thirdcarrier mounted on said rotatable member between said spaced carriers,means for mounting a plurality of strand-engaging rollers on said thirdcarrier for adjustment radially of said rotatable member, a memberengaging said mounting means for eileeting simultaneous radialadjustment of said last-named rollers, and one of said last-namedrollers being adapted to cooperate with a roller on each of said spacedcarriers to engage a strand.

16. In a machine for making wire ropes or strands, a rotatable member, ahub secured to said member, a carrier mounted on said hub for movementlongitudinally of the axis thereof, said carrier having a set of rollersmounted thereon, means for adjustably' securing said carrier to the hub.a second carrier mounted adjacent the face of the hub and having a setof rollers supported thereon for adjustment radially of said rotatablemember, and means to eflect simultaneous and predetermined relativeadjustment of said rollers.

17. A machine for making wire strands or ropescomprising a rotatablemember, a pair of carriers supported by said member in spaced relation,each of said carriers being adjustable longitudinally of said member, aplurality of strand-engaging rollers on each of said carriers, and athird carrier mounted on said rotatable member between said spacedcarriers and fixed against longitudinal movement.

JOHN P. BARCLAY.

